The bomb was placed at the entrance to the building and exploded on a Friday afternoon , during a busy lunchtime period . More than 300 people were eating in the neighbouring El Tobogan restaurant at the time of the explosion , two of whom were among the dead . The explosion caused significant damage to nearby buildings , shattering the windows of the nearby General Directorate of Security , while two cars parked nearby were totally destroyed . The bomb caused part of the Rolando Cafe ' s ceiling to collapse and guests staying in a pension above were injured due to falling through the gaps in the placed ArtifactExistence.ManufactureAssemble.Unspecified . The police immediately arrived and cordoned exploded Conflict.Attack.DetonateExplode the scene .